Shiīnkā
by Kurosaki Juria
Summary: Shiīnkā's name means Worthless. That's all he ever thought of himself as. When his mother sells him as a slave and he arrives at his Master's abode. His life changes for the good. But also, possibly, for the worse...
1. Chapter 1

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9143d22d00ba3a5cf806e525329eede1"He remembered when he was young, that he'd trained himself to not cry. He always tried to be pleasant, he tried to do things for the other kids, but they didn't like him. All because his mother named him Shiīnkā... Worthless. He was style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"***/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Edward Age 7 Years Old/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"***/em/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Where are we going?" He asked as a group of big kids led him through the halls. They'd said they'd play with him./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "Somewhere special" One of the kids grinned and the others laughed. He smiled. It must be a good place if they were all so excited. They stopped at a janitor's closet and the boy adopted a confused look./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "Why are we here?" He'd asked and the boys grinned. One punched him in the stomach and he fell, another kicked his face, splitting his lip and bruising his face. They beat him and he cried. There was no one in the school to hear him. Then it was dark and he heard the door of the janitor's closet locking./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "Hey! Don't leave me here!" The boys outside laughed and did nothing. Soon it was quiet outside and the boy banged his fists against the door. "Let me out!" He cried. When no one heard him. It was a school break and the whole school would be locked up for a week. He sobbed, he'd be there for a whole week!/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"***/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"He was hungry and cold and tired by the end of the week. When the door finally opened he flinched away from the light and when he finally looked over there was a janitor looming over him glaring down at him./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "What're you doing in here?!" The man scolded and the boy explained himself and the man sighed. "Damn kids, I've seen you out in the play yard, you can't catch a break can you kid?"/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "It's not their fault, really! I probably did something to make them mad!" He truly believed it. I something bad happened to him, it was his own fault. That's what his mother had taught him, it was always his fault./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "Kid, what happened wasn't your fault." The man said, "I'm going to report this to the principle." And with that the Janitor man became his best and only friend/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"***/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"A couple days later Shiīnkā was sitting in the principle's office looking down shamefully. His mother sat next to him and was glaring at him disappointedly. They were scolding him for the matter of being locked in the closet. It was his fault. The janitor man had been wrong because it was all his fault. /embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"***/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Edward Age 11 Years Old/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"***/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Shiīnkā sat at his desk, working until someone threw a piece of crumpled paper at him. He unfolded it and read the contents. He bit his lip trying not to cry./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Worthless Bitch" It said./emspan style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;" "Shiīnk/em/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"ā /em/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"bāktā"/em/spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;" In Xeresian. He bit his lip to hold back a sob. He didn't realize that his teeth had cut skin until the teacher scolded him then sent him to the nurse. The teacher was new, had been warned that Shiīnkā was a troublemaker. She looked at the note and read the words. Her eyes widened and she looked up angrily./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Who wrote this?!" No one said a word, "If no one says anything I'm keeping the whole class after." Still no one answered. She sighed. She didn't keep them after class, what was the point? As she left the building she found Shiīnkā sitting in the courtyard alone. He had nothing on his bitten lip and tears on his face./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Shiīnkā," the teacher approached him and his eyes widened, "where's the bandage for your lip?"/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""I didn't get one teacher." He said./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Why?"/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""The nurse said it was my own fault and that if I wanted it treated to do it myself." He looked down shamefully, "but I don't know how." /embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""No one ever taught you?/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Everyone says I'm too stupid to learn and so I'm worthless to teach." He looked up at the teacher, "Am I stupid? Am I really not able to learn? I want to learn! I want to be smart!" The teacher looked at him sadly. This boy was crying for help that she didn't know how to give.../embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"***/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Edward Age 12 Years Old/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"***/spanbr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Shiīnkā looked at his mother with wide ryes as men chained him in a cart./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Mama where are they taking me?" He saw one of the men hand his mother money and they began to drag him away. As soon as he realized that, he struggled./embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Mama! Stop them! Mama help me! Help me!" The woman who he called mother scowled at him and said:/embr style="box-sizing: border-box;" /em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Quit your whining, the only use you have for me is the money you'll bring in as a slave." Shiīnkā's eyes widened. His mother, his mama... She sold him? Tears streamed down his face and he gave up his fight letting the men drag him away./em/p 


	2. Master

**Hi guys! So this is kinda short, but it goes through a lot. I haven't had a lot of time to write lately, but I did want to update** _ **something**_ **XD. So here you go!**

Shiīnkā was given a new name before he arrived. Edward. He arrived at the man's home. That man was not there to greet him. That man had better things to do. Instead the overseer greeted him. With a sickening grin and a whip in his hands. He saw the boy's tears and that was when Shinka, now Edward, received his first punishment.

As he got used to the place, the other slaves took him under their wing, one in particular. Ana Jo he called her. He still missed his real Ana, wanted to see her again. But for now Ana Jo was all he had.

He worked hard, trying to make himself worth something. He never thought he could be. The overseer proved that. When he first came to the plantation the overseer saw his tears and backhanded him, telling him:

"No tears." The man told him sternly. When he didn't stop, the man slapped him to the ground. He received his first beating that day. He'd learned not to cry. As he began to work, they set him up spinning cotton into threads to be shipped to be made into uniforms for the soldiers fighting in a civil war out east. He watched studying the movements that the others took, how they spun the cotton, then tried it himself. He knew he wasn't good at it. He spun fast and accurate. Or so he thought. The overseer, whenever inspecting his work, would tear it to shreds and tell him to start over.

The other slaves came to love him. He would finish their jobs as well as his own, he wouldn't leave until it was all done. Sometimes he'd stay awake the whole night working. It was his attempt to be useful... Worth something... That's all he wanted, to be worth something, even if just one cenz. At least that meant he was worth something.

He was fourteen when he was first called to his master's bedroom. He stared at the ground when he arrived making sure he wouldn't look in the man's eyes, that'd be a sign of disrespect. And if he made his master angry, there's no telling what the man would do to him.

"Edward." His master said though it sounded more like a accusation.

"Yes Master..?" He replied softly. He'd learned that here, if you're a slave, speak softly, listen well and you won't be punished.

"Edward... Come here." Ed moved tentatively toward his master and the bad the man sat on.

"Do you know my name Edward?" he asked.

"Master...?" Edward guessed. The man smiled like he thought it was funny and shook his head.

"My name is Roy, Edward." He told the boy. Edward nodded. He didn't understand, why was he here? What was his master getting at?

That was how they met...

That was how they met. Now though Edward came to his Master's room every night. Right now he laid next to the man who had his arms wrapped around Ed, nuzzling his neck. He was sixteen now and had grown used to his Master's affections. He stayed quiet, like a good slave, never objecting.

"You're so precious." He whispered one night. Precious? The word for precious in Xerexian was _kiīlulaj_. It was a synonym for worth. He wasn't worth anything. He wasn't _Kiīlulaj_... He was _shiīnkā_... he was worthless.

"Precious, precious, precious..." His master repeated over and over, "Do you realize that? Do you realize how precious you are?" Tears came to Edward's eyes. Was his master mocking him, shooting him down with words? He hated that he could say it sometimes, but he felt that he could, in some sense, trust this man. But he was hurting him with these words. _Kiīlulaj? Esō. Eū sāuk Shiīnka. Precious? No. He was worthless..._ Worthless, worthless, worthless.

He hadn't realized that the tears he'd been trying to hold back had spilled until he felt Roy wipe them away.

"Why are you crying?" He asked. Edward shook his head, he wouldn't bother the man with his troubles, "Edward, tell me." Ed took a shaking breath.

 _"Egōtk ja Shiīnkā. Nōtk kiīlulaj. Quēt tēus mēus kiīlulaj nōmēt? Quē?!"_ He spoke in fast Xerexian before realizing he wasn't speaking Amestian. He looked up at Roy who looked down at him with a confused expression.

"What language was that?" He asked.

"Xerexian." Ed answered.

"You haven't spoken like that for a ling time... Could you translate what you said?"

"I am worthless, not precious. Why do you name me precious? Why?" His voice was hoarse from crying, his eyes red, "Why?" He asked softly, "I'm not precious... I'm worthless..."

 _Egōtk ja Shiīnkā..._

**Well there you have it! I have to say the most fun thing about writing this story is going to be making up my interpretation of the Xerexian language and their translations! I'm trying to make the syllables sound choppy, That's how I would interpret the language. So yeah. Hope you liked it and I'll try to update a longer chapter soon!**


	3. Abandoned and Sold

**HELLO! I'M FINALLY UPDATING SOMETHING YAAYY! Now, in all seriousness, this one is a flashback back to when Ed was first sold to slave drivers and the story up until he arrived at Roy's plantation. It's kinda a filler but not really, but either way I hope you enjoy it! :)**

He was twelve then. He watched as his mother, who watched him as well, as she exchanged money with a group of strange men. When the exchange was finished they all turned to the young boy.  
"Nūnt siīrrākū?" _This the boy?_ One of the strange men asked his mother and she nodded and said:  
"Mēt kāt" _Yes,_ "Egōtk tākū mū pāntte mūntā amū āddāt shūk?" _I take it that you are satisfied with him?_ The man nodded, not looking at the woman talking to him.  
"Mēt kāt" _Yes._  
The man along with the two other men, made their way toward Shiīnkā who watched them with wide eyes.  
"Mēkūtas sē tō siīrrākū!" _Come on boy!_ One if the men reached for him and he darted out of the way.  
"Quas nōnt tēusū kātk?!" _What are you doing?!_ Shiīnkā asked them, surprised at the sudden action. Why were they grabbing at him?  
"Mēkūtas sē tō siīrrākū!" _Come on boy!_ The man was aggitated now. Shiīnkā still didn't move at his voice and the man huffed in annoyance and looked back at the others.  
"Ākut gōtā shūk etō pās shūk īn māsūtk" _Just grab him and put him in the wagon._ The man said and the two others grinned and tackled the boy. Shiīnkā's eyes widened in fear.  
"Ana! Ana, mēuskūtk! Ana, atō! Mēuskūtk!" _Mama! Mama, help me! Mama please! Help me please!_ Despite his pleas, his mother, his mama gave him a cold and hard glare.  
"Nūnt pē! Egōtk ja prātkērēt kostāk tēus! Teus mūntās nōtk mē sōkēt nōn īām, teus ākiīnūsāt shiīnkā!" _No more! I'm tired of taking care of you! You are no longer my son, you worthless child!_ Shiīnkā froze. His mother, his mama, the only person he thought might have cared for him at least a little bit was now sending him away. Selling him, he now realized, to slave drivers. He realized this and began struggling again.  
"Atō ana! Atō, Egōtk shiēt tōs pīen! Egōtk māsūt! Egōtk shiēt tōs piēn! Egōtk shiēt kāts āmatkērēt! Egōtk māsūt! Egōtk māsūt ana!" _Please mama! I'll be good! I promise! I'll be good! I'll do anything! I promise! I promise, mama!_ When his mother didn't move to help him he went limp. His mama hates him too...? Just like everyone else? He was worthless to her as well as everyone else? ' _'Nōtk ēkat kiīso ūntak sēntsū...' '_ _Not even wirth one cenz'_ He thought miserably, not even to his mother was he useful or a joy to have around.  
He let himself be dragged and chained in a wagon full of other people, all destined to be slaves... And they drove them away.  
The auction was where he was sold. He watched the crowd of people call out different prices for slaves. He dreaded his own turn to stand up in front of those people. Would anyone even buy him? He was Shiīnkā. Worthless. No one would want him.. When he was dragged to thestage, he watched the crowd of people with wide eyes. There were so many. The slave auctioneer spoke in fast Amestrian and Shiīnkā didn't understand a single word. He knew a little of the language but it was hard to understand when the man spoke so fast. He watched with amazement when people started yelling out prices. Why would they want to buy him, surely they knew he wouldn't be any use. Though when they would find that out, they'd send him away. The price for him climbed higher and higher, until it stopped. The man had raven black hair and pale skin. He was broad but not too broad and he looked like he might be or might have been a military man in the past. Shiīnkā shuddered. During the war in which Amestris captured Xerexes and made it their territory, soldiers were known to be monsters. Even after the war it wasn't safe for Xeresian women _or_ men to be out on the streets at night when the soldiers were patrolling. The man stared at him intently with piercing pitch black eyes and Shiīnkā shuddered again under the man's gaze. He deserved this though, he deserved to be stuck with a cruel person because of all the things that made him worthless. Because of all the things that made him stupid, and unable, and just useless in general. He deserved this. But these thoughts didn't calm his nerves about the military man. He'd be good though, he'd do everything perfect and not make the man mad, the man would never punish him in any way because he would behave perfectly. He'd be a good slave. It was funny, he'd already accepted that he was a slave, property, owned. The men working at the auction set him in chains and led him over to the man who, once Shiīka stood in front of him, lifted the boys face up roughly, examining the blonde's face in a way that made a chill run down his spine. The man ran his eyes up and down Shiīkā's body, looking at the muscles in his arms and legs. At home he would do the strenuous work that no one else would want to do, he had no choice, but he didn't mind, whenever it happened he always had a hope that they would like him. Like him because he did things for everyone. They never liked him. The blonde looked up at his new Master with wide golden eyes and the man let go of his face.  
"What's your name?" The man asked him, or more like demanded. Shiīnkā cocked his head to the side, not understanding.  
Egōtkja āmakt, egōtk kāts nōtk spātkiī Amestrēiī." _I'm sorry, I don't speak Amestrian._ Which he really didn't he only knew random words, he wasn't allowed to take the Amestrian language class at school because no one thought he'd be able to learn it because of the difficulty in learning the language. The man gave him a weird look an Shiīnkā looked down, he had already made his Master angry at him. Why did he always do everything wrong?  
"Do you not speak Amestrian?" The man asked. He didn't sound angry, Shiīnkā looked up maybe he hadn't messed up after all.  
"Nōtk kāts egōtk spātkiī Amestrēiī." I _don't speak Amestrian._ He repeated. Oh! Maybe hand signs would work. He pointed to his mouth. "Egōtk kāts nōtk spātkiī Amestrēiī" _I don't speak Amestrian._ He shook his head after speaking. "Egōtk kāts nōtk mākū" _I don't know._  
"I'll need to hire a translator and teacher for you. You're not going to be able to live in Amestris for very long if you don't know the language." The man set his hand on Shiīnkā's shoulder and the boy flinched, expecting a blow. That was the only time his mother ever touched him, that was the only time _anyone_ ever touched him. Only when he was being punished. The man frowned at his reaction and Shiīnkā looked down. Was his Master actually mad now? If he was, he didn't show it.  
"Come." The man said and led the boy to a wagon. Once they we in the vehicle started forward and they set off to the man's plantation.

A couple days later, after Shiīnkā, now Edward, had arrived at the plantation, a woman showed up. She knocked on the front door, asking for Roy Mustang. Edward didn't know who that was, he didn't know the names of the paid employees or even his Master. Soon after she was let in, Edward was called to the sitting room. He rushed, not wanting to make his master wait too long. When he arrived, the woman he had seen earlier was there with the man. He stood in the doorway until his Master waved him inside.  
"I've been using hand gestures to communicate with him but there's only so much I can say with just my hands." The woman looked at Edward, she had narrow eyes and her hair was pressed into still locks, he didn't know what they were actually called. Then the woman spoke.  
"Tāut quās ēs nōmēt?" _What is your name?_ Edward froze, she was speaking his language! She was speaking Xeresian. He felt elated, someone here could actually understand him!  
"Mē nōmēt ēs Shiīnkā." _My name is Shiīnkā._ The woman made a face when she heard his name and he looked away. She knew the meaning of Shiīnkā... Worthless... But the woman didn't sound mad or disappointed when she spoke again.  
"Mē nōmēt ēs Izumi Curtis. Egōtk shiēt tōs tāket tēus tōtk spātkiī Amestrēiī." _My name is Izumi Curtis. I will be teaching you to speak Amestian,_ Pōs adhūkt tēut nōnt amōs nūnt spātkiī mūntās ligūntān, egōtk shiēt tōs tīsūatket fōkt tēus akū tāut Dōminiīnūkt." _But before you are able to speak this language I will be translating for you and your Master._ Edward nodded enthusiastically. He would finally be able to be understood. He could speak easily with this woman, Izumi, translating for him.  
"Mēt kāt, mēt kāt, mēt kāt!" _Yes, yes, yes!_ Izumi smiled at him and his joy. Then his Master spoke up.  
"What's he saying?" He asked.  
"He's just very enthusiastic about finally being able to communicate verbally. I think it was difficult for him to only speak with his hands as well." Edward's Master smiled.  
"I'm happy as well that I'll finally be able to understand him.  
"Quās ēs mē dōminiīnūkt-" _What is my-_ The blonde stopped himself. He wasn't supposed to speak without being spoken to first, he just took a liberty he didn't even have in the first place.  
"What's he saying?"  
"He started to ask a question then stopped himself" Izumi told the man then turned to the blonde boy, "spātkiī" She ordered and Edward nodded timidly.  
"Qu-quās ēs m-mē Dōminiīnūkt inquītāt?" _Wh-what is m-my Master saying?_ He asked quietly. Izumi smiled at him.  
"Eū ēs inquītāt pāntte eū ēs shīkat pāntte eū akū tēus shiēt ōkt tōsamōs kōshāt mīshātk āddāt mēkū tasō" _He says that he is happy that he and you will finally be able to communicate now._ Edward nodded  
"Egōtk ja askēt" _I am too._

"Egōtk ja askēt"  
 _I am too..._

 **Alrighty this is finished for now! I thi k I'll continue this into the next chapter so that you know the events up to when Ed/Shiīnkā is first called to Roy's room for the first time. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you're all looking forward for the next chapter.**  
 **Thanks for reading this far in my horrid writing!**  
 **~Juria Kurosaki-Chan**


	4. I've Moved!

Hello! I know I haven't been here for a while, but I've kind of moved on from . Now I spend more of my time on Wattpad and Ao3. I've continued posting and updating all of the stories from here to those sites and I have new ones on there too. So if you all wanted to see more of the stories I was posting on here or if you wanna see my new stories, there's the usernames to my Wattpad and Ao3 below so you know who I am.

Bai!

~Juria Kurosaki

I now reside on Wattpad

HeartOfFullmetal369

And Ao3

HeartOfFullmetal


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